Special fare treat from Jet

OUR CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, July 24: In an attempt to reclaim marketshare from newbies such as Air Asia India and Tata-SIA, Jet Airways and its 24 per cent equity partner Etihad today announced a 20-50 per cent limited period discount on fares across 135 international destinations of the two carriers.

“The special introductory offer is a celebration to mark the formalisation of the strategic alliance between Etihad and Jet Airways,” said Gaurang Shetty, senior vice-president (commercial), Jet Airways.

According to aviation experts, the decision highlights how the alliance plans to operate and its strategies to deal not only with Air India and soon-to-be-launched Tata-SIA but also low-cost carriers that have eaten into its profits.

The introductory joint special fare will be available from July 25 to July 27 for travel between September 1 and June 15, 2015 for flights within India. For international flights, the discount will be for travel between September 1 and November 30.

So, tickets bought under the discount will be valid for nine months for flying on domestic routes and for two months for international flights.

The offer, however, will be limited for tickets purchased in India and for travel in business and economy classes of both the airlines.

Travel agents said under the scheme, a Delhi-Frankfurt economy class return ticket, which is available for around Rs 50,000-65,000, will cost around Rs 41,000.

Both the airlines did not specify the number of seats offered.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad bought a 24 per cent stake, worth about Rs 2,060 crore, in Jet Airways last year, marking the first FDI by a foreign carrier.

Jet Airways is suffering massive operational losses as its domestic arm, which accounts for 55 per cent of its business, has not been able to cope with the fare wars unleashed by rivals.